


Lost Treasures AU (Days 28, 29, 30)

by Flamebird38



Series: 31 Days of Apex [23]
Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: 31 Days of Apex (Apex Legends), F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:07:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25606342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flamebird38/pseuds/Flamebird38
Summary: Pirate Queen, Ajay Che, is after priceless relics that have been buried in the Outlands. Sky Marshal Anita Williams is after her, making sure she doesn't release something truly evil.
Relationships: Bangalore | Anita Williams/Lifeline | Ajay Che
Series: 31 Days of Apex [23]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1811551
Comments: 1
Kudos: 14





	1. Day 28 -- Treasure

“What’s it lookin’ like out there, Cap’n?” Mirage, my hired right-hand man comes up to me and slaps me on the shoulder. He looks down at me when the most lopsided smile I’ve ever seen in my life.

“Dusty,” I deadpan. This is probably the fifth time this hour he’s come up to me and asked me the same damn question.

For weeks, we’ve been trying to track down a pirate and her crew who are trying to find priceless relics left by the people who originally inhabited the Outlands. Partnered with—or, more accurately, employed by Loba Andrade, the biggest treasure hunter the Frontier has ever seen—the notorious Pirate Queen, Ajay Che, has been wreaking havoc on the Outlands trying to get a hold of whatever power is promised to come with the treasure.

Several months ago, I accepted a bounty on Che. Known simply as the Sky Marshal, if someone caused problems in the Outlands, I am usually the one people called first. However, this contract I took on the Pirate Queen just gets more and more complicated as time goes on. She’s a slippery one and always one step ahead. Trying to catch her has been a real thorn in my side. But now that I know where she’s headed, it’s about to get a whole lot easier.

“Captain, I suggest we change course. My readings suggest that we’re coming up on a dust storm. One of the biggest this year.” Crypto calls to me from one of his many computers.

While I normally worked alone, when I heard how much of a strain this journey was going to be for me, I bit the bullet and hired a crew. While they were the biggest band of misfits I’ve ever met in my life, at least they got along.

Mirage and Crypto came as a duo. Either I hired them both or not all. Crypto specialized in monitoring routes, the atmosphere, and general surroundings. While I always get the final call on navigation, he’s the one making the educated suggestions. Mirage, on the other hand, specialized in… well, I’m not exactly sure. All he’s been doing this entire time is using the ship as a personal jungle gym. I’ve considered pushing him into the vacuum of space a couple of times, but Crypto insisted that his specialty is more “up close and personal” and that I need to just wait for Mirage to showcase himself.

The other two of my crew are also terribly out of place. I was able to get my hands on one of the best Outlands explorers, Natalie Paquette. She usually calls herself Wattson, but it’s just as much of a mouthful as her last name. The last person that I hired to be a part of my crew, was the famed chemist, Alexander “Caustic” Nox. I had a hard time giving up my morals for this one, but I needed someone who knew their way around an ultimate weapon. While my ship had all the artillery you could think of, that firepower could still go out of commission. Having someone who knows their way around corrosive gas would give us the edge we need. Especially when we have to go up against Che.

“But the radar says we’re on their exact course. Dust storm or no dust storm, if we divert now, we won’t catch up to them in time.” I get out of my chair for the first time in hours, walking over to my expert.

“If we go down in the storm, then we won’t catch up to them at all,” he simply says, not even looking at me. “Better to divert and have to play catch up than actually end up dead.” His words are very to the point and quick to make me sound stupid.

I grunt, reluctant to follow his recommendation. “Fine. Mirage, change tracks for me, please? Since you’re already over there.” I turn to my chair and see him lounging in it like it was made for him.

“Aye, Aye, Capt’n!” He lazily salutes me then begins pressing buttons on my helm controls. He pulls one of the many levers and the ship jerks suddenly, almost sending us to the floor. I start to walk up to him, fist clenched. _I swear to god I’m going to kill him._

But I’m not even close to being the quickest. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the chemist rush him and grab him by his neck. Caustic slams him against the opposite wall, getting inches away from his face. Mirage tries to remain calm but his eyes dart back and forth, looking for a way out.

“Let me be very clear, _Mirage_ ,” Caustic roar is low, powerful, and I can feel it rumble through the floor. “If you ever do something half as reckless as that, I will personally see that this crew of five turns into one of four.”

“Look, so I jerked it too hard. It’s not like I sent us into a mountain,” Mirage chokes out. He’s struggling to breathe but I think his pride is getting in the way of him asking for mercy.

Caustic finally lets go, the calmest frustration I’ve ever seen written across his face. “Next time, I’ll make sure my chemicals spill. Then you will be wishing we had crashed into a mountain.” I look at Caustic, impressed. I knew the man was hardcore back in his heyday, but I figured he just lost all of that when he decided to work on chemical weapons full time.

Suddenly, I feel a tug oh my jacket sleeve. I look down to see Wattson showing me a map. “Captain,” her french accent floats beautifully around the ship, “I don’t believe what we picked up was an ordinary dust storm. The myth says that the world will start to become corrupt when the relics are disturbed.” She points out the front windshield. I look and see the ship we’ve been tracking sitting in front of a temple opening that’s been carved on the face of a large mountain. “And I think we found who disturbed it.”


	2. Day 29 -- Skin

“H-hey, Fearless Leader, I gotta question for you.” Mirage jogs up to me from the back of our group. To say I’ve only been slightly tempted to push him off the ledge into the temple chasm is an understatement. His constant talking, questioning, and singing is starting to get on my last nerve. “How do we know this is the way to the treasure? I mean this place looks totally untouched. Like even if Pirate Lady and her gang came through here…”

I point to Wattson who is a few paces ahead, leading the entire brigade. “The kid with the map says this is the way to go. Need I explain myself further?”

We had been walking for hours in the temple, trying to figure out where the relics were and if we could intercept Che and her crew before they got to it. The temple was probably the creepiest place I have ever been to. Surrounded by crumbling rock, we are constantly on the edge, trying not to make loud noises.

When we first entered, it was just a small cave with drawings and writings. Water trickled down making the floor slick but bearable. But now we have essentially entered a large cavern with a single rock bridge through the center. The ceiling of the cave is hundreds of feet above us. Below is an abyss that is so eaten in by darkness that it doesn’t appear to have a bottom at all. Our torches barely reach feet around us, so we can only imagine how wide the actual space is.

“I’m just sayin’ tha—” He starts, breaking my train of thought. Then there's a rumble that cuts him off. It’s low and deep, shaking the earth at its very core. The cavern starts to fall crumble in spots around us, reverberating as they clash with more rock down in the abyss. Mirage lets out a small shriek, clutching my arm. I raise an eyebrow at him and yank my arm out of his grip. For a grown-ass man, he sure is jumpy.

“That can’t be good,” Wattson breathes as it starts to die down. Before I can even instruct my crew, Wattson takes off down the path we’ve been on. I huff in frustration as I yell at my crew to follow her. We don’t even know what we’re headed towards, but we have no choice but to follow. Whatever set off that tremor needs to be stopped.

Trying to catch up with Wattson is no easy task. I was used to sprinting after people all the time, but this was different. This was terrain I wasn’t used to. One missed step and you plummeted to your death. When we all finally do catch up, we’re greeted with a sight that is unlike any that I’ve ever seen.

We all slowly enter what appears to be the throne room. Now night—damn how long have we been in this place?— the moonlight enters the room through a perfectly placed skylight. It immediately lights up a chair in the center, with a massive blue and gold statue of a man—or maybe a king? To his right is a marble statue of a woman. With accents of gold, her features give off a heavenly glow when hit by the moonlight. To the left of the throne is a robot that seems to be made of pure gold. He stands in almost an attack position as if to be the guard for the other two.

However, amongst all treasures, I notice one thing is missing. “It looks like we beat Che and Andrade here. Some good news for us.”

“I wouldn’t speak too quickly, Captain,” Caustic says next to me. His head turns to our left as a massive rock door starts to slide out of the way. Out of their own darkness, I can barely make our adversaries.

I feel my fists clench at my sides. This is our chance… before they get to the relic. I open my mouth to give my team a quick game plan of attack, but we’re noticed sooner than I thought.

“Well, if it isn’t muh numbuh one fan,” I hear Che tick as she climbs over rocks and gold coins to meet us in the moonlight. Her primarily black outfit camouflages her to the darkness but the small bits of green help my eyes adjust.

I look at my team, not even bothering to engage with her small jab. “Take on whoever you want.” My voice is a low snarl, “Leave this one for me.”

Without hesitation, my team jumps into action taking on the crew member that was closest to them. Just as quickly I lunge towards Che, tackling, and pinning to the ground. The uneven ground gives her a slight advantage as she fights to unseat me, but my position is too stable.

I sneer at her. “Looks I finally caught you. Good luck trying to escape this one.”

Che only looks at me, the moonlight hitting her face paint just right. “Aftuh all we’ve been through the last few months, Sky Marshal?” She clicks her tongue at me in mock disappointment. “I thought we had somethin’ goin’ for us.” _All that we’ve been through? You mean you leading me on a chase?_ I notice her smirk at me, then I notice her eyes quickly flick to my lips before returning eye contact. _Oh. OH._ I feel something start to swell in the pit of my stomach.

I physically shake my head and harden my resolve before addressing her again. “I don’t know what you’re trying to get at, Che. But I can tell you now that I ain’t lettin’ you slip away this time.”

“I wouldn’t want yuh tuh let me go,” she whispers, craning her neck to get her face closer to mine. I pull back, annoyed by the sudden breach of personal space. “But them on the other hand…” She trails off, suddenly dropping her body back down.

Before I can even register what she says, I hear the sound of rushing air as a knife whizzes past my ear. It strikes the upper part of my ear, leaving a sizable gash. I hiss in pain, my hand immediately going to my ear to stop the bleeding. Che takes this opportunity to throw me off and shove me away from her.

I stagger while trying to stand, careful to not fall into the chasm that was exposed near where we had our scuffle. I watch as Che slowly climbs to the relic in the middle. I would run after her, but Bloodhound, the pro hunter on her team, stands guard with another knife ready for me.

As Che walks up to the relic, I can feel the air start to shift. I can feel a sense of uneasiness—dare I say the word evil? She reaches her hand out, placing it under his chin. Then, as if all at once, the cavern comes alive. In a flash of light, the relic stands and snatches up Che by the wrist, dangling her in front of his face.

“So, you’re the one stupid enough to wake me from my slumber,” he says. His voice is hollow, scratchy, and malicious.

“Wha-what are yuh?” Che’s voice comes out small and frightened, but it still reverberates against the cave walls.

The relic moves her closer to his face. “Death.” He takes her and slings her to the other side of the cave with a sick chuckle. “I think I’ll leave her for last… which means who do I get to slaughter first?”

Trying to process what kind of beast we just unleashed, I can only bring myself to say one word, my favorite word. “ _Fuck._ ”


	3. Day 30 -- Trust

“Captain, I’m going to firmly suggest that we get out of here. _Now_ ,” Crypto says to me, looking at one of the many devices that he brought with him. My crew had gathered around me, leaving Che and her people closer to the murderous relics. We all brace as another large tremor shakes the ruins. “Whatever is happening here… it’s all going to come down.”

I look up at the scene around me. A total bloodbath has ensued, and it’s unlike one I’ve ever seen. The relic—or more accurately the revenant— has his fist wrist deep in Andrade’s abdomen. Che’s biggest defensive crewman, Gibraltar, is doing what he can to hold off the golden robot while Octane, her most offensive crewman, runs circles around it. The marble woman is advancing on Bloodhound who is doing all they can to defend both themselves and Che.

“Right. Run,” I speak, my throat dry. 

I start to turn, Mirage and Crypto several paces ahead of the rest of us, but Wattson grabs my hand to stop me. “We can’t just leave them.” She’s looking at Bloodhound and Che. I look for the others in her crew, but they’re already goners when I see the revenant advancing on them.

“No time to have a heart of gold, Paquette,” I grunt, swiping my hand from her grip. I turn once again to see that Mirage and Crypto are long gone and Caustic is now ahead of us, no longer waiting. I start jogging back the way we came in, but I don’t make it through the entrance before another tremor hits. This one is the biggest yet and it sends the doorway collapsing, blocking my way out.

I quickly backtrack, taking my place beside Wattson once again who has since gone and hidden behind a large rock that had fallen during the tremor. _Okay, so time for Plan B._ I feel my heart drop as I realize our last option is to try and make it through the entry Che and her crew came through. The only problem is that she, Bloodhound, and the statue stand in our way.

I watch as the statue advances on the two of them. Bloodhound takes a couple of swipes at her with their knife but it just glides across her, not stopping her. Bloodhound leaps at the statue in an attempt to tackle it. As they get mere inches away, the statue teleports out of the way which makes Bloodhound catch thin air. _So, a statue that can take just about any hit and teleport? Right… such a fair fight._ The statue picks up a sizable rock and launches at Bloodhounds back. I feel myself wince when the crack resonates throughout the space. 

I subconsciously grab at Wattson, preparing to shield her should the statue turn on us. However, my hand snatches empty space. When I turn, I see Wattson taking a few tentative steps towards the statue. I quickly seize her by the collar and jerk her back.

“Are you crazy?” I hiss at her. I peek once again and see the statue just standing over Bloodhound. Che is slowly standing, gearing up for an attack. Good god, I know for a fact she’s not gonna survive this one. “Listen, I’ll take care of this thing so you can run. What do you know about her?”

“Only that she’s the only one who responds to human emotions.” Wattson pulls out a piece of paper with notes scribbled on it. “Appealing to her humanity enough to get her to back off should give us the time we need.”

I swallow. _Appeal to her humanity… Like, talk to her about what?_ I could fight whenever I needed to but chat? I have never been one for small talk, especially with a goddamn statue. I look at Wattson, intending to ask her how I’m even supposed to go about taking to an ancient statue. But she beats me to the action, going back to taking her small steps towards the relic. I would stop her but if she’s able to buy us a bit of time, I can yank her up and haul ass out of here.

I steal a quick glance at the other two monsters, but they’re still trying to catch the last two of Che’s crewmen. My sigh of relief is long. At least we won’t have to deal with them coming up behind us for a while. 

I crouch around the rock, but quickly have to duck back around when the statue sends Che hurdling right for it. The crack of her bones makes me grimace ever so slightly. Wattson dove out of the way, avoiding a collision. I start to make my way for Wattson as she’s quickly standing back on her feet. I shield her, waiting for the statue to make a move towards us, but that move never comes.

Instead, the relic advances on Che once again. Grabbing her by the waistband, the marble maiden hoists her up and sends Che flying. This time, Che hits the ground, rolling a couple of times. She just barely lands on the edge of the exposed chasm, her groans filling the empty air. As she starts to get up, the statue is there in an instant. Picking Che up by the collar, the statue holds Che over the edge and mutters something I can’t make out. Seconds later, the hunk of marble drops Che, sending into the depths below.

“No!” I hear myself scream. _Wait, what?_

The marble woman turns on us now, but this time it’s Wattson that shields me. “Remember, appeal to her humanity. I’ve got this one, you go to Che.” She smiles softly at me, implying something I wish she wouldn’t. But, no matter how hard I fight it, my legs quickly take me to where Che was dropped. I find her clinging to the cliff face a few feet below the edge, the area around her hands crumbling every time she tries to get a better grip.

“Come tuh finish me off, Sky Marshal?” She grunts.

“No,” I say getting on my knees. “Give me your hand.”

Che only looks at me, both defiance and confusion on her face. “I’ll pull muh-self up.”

“Please, Che,” I reach down as far as I can, “trust me.” I silently plead with her. This isn’t how she’s supposed to go. “ _Trust me_.” A few long seconds go by, then Che finally reaches up and grasps my hand. My smile oozes relief as I pull her up. 

I whisper to her that we need to run, but we barely get two feet when I realize she’s incapable of doing so. I bend down and wrap one arm around her legs and the other around her middle. I carefully lift her, holding her close to my chest. I turn around and make eye contact with Wattson, motioning her that it was time to split. Surprisingly, she didn’t have a single scratch on her. Her plan must have worked. I watch as Wattson leaves a small kiss on the marble maiden's cheek and then books it towards us. 

I don’t even have her stop as we both begin sprinting to the exit. Trying to navigate to the exit was surprisingly easier than I thought it would be. While the rock was crumbling around us, our sense of urgency didn’t let us worry about it. We’re back out into the cool night air in a matter of what seems like minutes. 

When I finally catch my breath, I look down at the Pirate Queen in my arms. “You good?”

She only nods, but when she shifts to get more comfortable, a giant wince comes across her face. “I never thought yuh of all people would actually offer me a hand.”

“You said it yourself, didn’t you? You didn’t want me to let you go.”

“Yeh but I didn’t think—”

“You didn’t think I’d want to keep you close?” I raise an eyebrow at her. 

“Yeh, somethin’ like that.” She smirks, grabbing me by the collar of my shirt and pulling me into a kiss. Her lips fit perfectly with mine, the sweet taste and smell of honey flooding my senses. 

When we pull apart, I can’t help but focus on the heat in my cheeks. “So, after all those months of chasing you and months of you toying with me, this is how you’re going to get me to give up on this bounty?”

She comes in close, our noses almost touching. “Maybe… but only if it’s workin’.”

I feel a smile creep across my face. As much as I hated to admit it, I enjoyed our banter. I enjoyed our little cat and mouse games. “Oh, it’s working.”

She smiles, grabbing me by the collar once again. “Then I’m gonna keep doin’ it then.” She pulls me into a second kiss, and believe me when I say it was even better than the first one.


End file.
